miscarriage or what?

Posted by melissa on April 15, 1999 at 20:39:21
Hi I was just wondering why my body is acting the way it is.  I started taking the birth control pill on March 21 and started bleeding around three days into the pack.  At first i only spotted and know that this normal but as I got further into the pack, Istarted bleeding heavier and heavier.  Aroudnd the third week into the pack I have been bleeding I say pretty bad and passing big clots sorry so graphic and the toilet after I go pee is discoloered red.  Sorry again.  I am now on the fourth week which are my placebo pills and still bleeding reall heavy with the same symptoms.  I thought the pills were supposes to make your periods lighter and less painful.  What is going on with my body.  I saw the doctor today and she took a pregnancy test which I don't get the results until tomorrow.  She also gave me some new pills to start sunday, saying that she believes the pills I was taking were not strong enough for me. Why would this bee.

Posted by hfhs.md.db on April 16, 1999 at 15:24:11
It is extremely unlikely that you are pregnant. It is not uncommon to have variability in bleeding for the first several months after starting oral contraceptive pills (OCP's). Occasionally, women will get heavier bleeding like you are experiencing. Generally I advise a woman to stay on a particular OCP for a full three months before switching to another brand due to bleeding problems. You are correct, OCP's eventually will decrease the amount and duration of the bleeding due to thinning of the uterine lining (endometrium), sometimes it takes several cycles to do this. I would  expect that your bleeding would improve next cycle and continue to do so over the next several cycles.